Air cleaner



july im, l923. A. c. @EMM-:TT

AIR CLEANER Filed Sent. 8, 1917 2 Sheets-Sheet l and State'o Minnesota,

ythrough a second rits.

TT, F MINNEAPGLIB, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOE T@ 3mm E.

Application met se'ptemtere, 1era semi no. icones.

l To alli/whom it may concern:

Be it own that I, ASHLEYC. BENNETL' a citizen of the United States, residing at vlhnneapolis, in the county of .Hennepin have invented certain new and useful improvements' in Air Cleaners, of which the'lfollowing is a. specication. y

My invention relates to air cleaners and has for its object to provide an improved air cleaner wherein the air to be cleaned is projected in a spiral direction into a body of water at the bottom of the cleaimr and rotates `with the water, thereafter passin casing wherein a* secon rotary motion is given to the air, thus removin from the air which has cntacted with t e air any moisture which may have been carried with the air from the water. ln its broader scope my invention comprises a combined gravity and liquid air cleaner in combination with a water separator whereby the air is first freed from all or the major part or the solid impurities carried thereby and then is freed from excess amounts ci' moisture. is the urpose of this invention particularly to c can air for use in carbureters or for other purposes where quanti'J ties ,ci entirely pnre air are required.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and are particularly pointed out in the claims.

ln-'the drawings, illustrating the applica-s tion of my invention in one crnnu- Fig. l is a sectional elevation oi' an air cleaner embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is 'Y a part sectional plan view of. the apparatus viewed from below. Fig. 3 1s an elevation l view of the assembled device.

As iustrated, a cylindrical inner casing l0 is secured to a` top-1l which may be sligthly conical, the top in turn being centrally secured to a discharge pipe l2 which has a portion 13 which extends within the casing 10. The tcp 11 is formed with a projecting portion le to which are secured a multiplicity of lugs 15 each provided with slots l'd adapted to receive Shanks 17 of thumb screws i8, which Shanks are threaded into carriers 19 pivoted at 20 to lugs 2i extended outwardly from an outer cylindrical casing 22 formed vwith a closedbottom 23. By means ofthe thumb screws 18 in. coopc eration with the slotted lugs l5 the portion i 22 is removably secured to the to cock 26 by l 1l, a gaskot 24 at said top and engaging t e proyecting portion 14 Ymaking an air-tight joint between the same. rlhe outer casing 22 is further held positioned by means of angle pieces 25 secured to the projecting portion 1d. The bottom 23 may be provided with a which liquid may be withdrawn when desired.

'lhe cylindrical casing l0 has secured to the lower portion thereof a conical extension 27 within `which are transverse partitions 28 dividing the space within the conical extension into passageways, and upon the conical extension is an upwardl extending cone 29 the lower edge or which is spaced as indicated at 60 from the wall ci cone 27.

Within the casing l0 are a multiplicity o'le troughs 30 forming in combination with the casing l0 spiral passageways 3l which are provided with closed upper ends 32 and o en lower ends 33, the upper ends surrounding apertures 3d extending through casing l0 into the passageways 3l. lt will. be seen that these apertnres'i open Within en enum lar space 35 formed between the cylindrical casing l0 and the outer cylindrical casing; 22., which annular space opens at its bottom into the'4 chamber dormed in the lower portion of the casing 22. Secured to the lower end of conical portion 27' and reaching to a point near the bottom oi" chamber 36 is e cylindrical extension 37, the lower edge oiwhich is spaced as indicated at 38 a short distance from the .bottom 23 of the container 22. 'Water and other liquid 'is supplied to the chamber 36 through a pipe 39 normally sealed tight by a screw cap l0, the water reaching a level indicated at Lil in chamber 86. A multiplicity oi troughs cl2 (here shown as three in number) extend spirally around the inside of casing 22 'formingvspiral passageways 43 having closed upper ends le. The passagesA t3 at Atheir upperends surround openings d5 extending through the casing' 22, these openin `s being the inlet openings, for-outside air into the entire cleaner. The lowerends of troughs 43 are open and entend in a with bottom 23 to a oint below the water surface 4l as indicate Eat it in Fig. l.

The operation of the cleaner is as follows.. The pipe 12 is connected with an air-cnrrent inducing means such as a pump or gas en gine, or, where desired, the current may be Y lane parallel lil@ the bottom of the chamber 36.

forced through the air cleaner by ressure means applied to apertures`45. hatever means for inducing the a1r current are employed, such air will enter the casing through apertures 45 and pass downwardly through passageways 43 formed'by troughs 42 and the casing 22, discharging .at the various mouths 46 into the body of water at the bottom of chamber 22. These air currents entering the water so as to travel in a rotary direction and implngmg upon the water will set the body of water lntlo rotation, and centrifugal force, due to thls rotation, will cause the water to pile up around the inner wall of chamber 36, thus rising to a higher level and at all times keeping the mouths 46 of passageways 43 well covered. All of the air which enters the casing must, therefore, pass through a screen of rotating water, and extremely fine particles of dust or lint which would not ordinarily'be precipitated by gravity will adhere to the water and so be removed from the air. The air after passing out of the water will ascend in chamber 36 and the annular extension -35 thereof iinally passlng through openings 34 into the spirial passageways 31 within casing 10. This air will leave these passageways at the mouths 33 beside the central cone 29 and above the apertures below said cone, traveling in a cyclone or whirl. All particles of mo1sture carried upward from the water will be precipitated by gravity upon the walls of cone 27 or cone 29 and will How downward into the interior of conical extension 27, ultimately reaching the body of water at The deadair space below cone 29 and above the water in extension 37 will. however, always be maintained because of the water seal at the bottom of chamber 37. The cyclone of air formed as it leaves the passageways 31 will ultimately ascend to the pipe 13 and leave the chamber through the passageway 12 wholly freed of dust-of every sort and kind, no matter how fine. and also freed from any excess moisture by reason of the water in the chamber 36. The precipitation of water eifected by the internal cleaner will almost, if not quite, equal any evaporation brought about by the movement of the currents of air through the cleaner, for which reason water in the cleaner will be exhaustedvery slowlyand will seldom need to be changed excepting for the purpose of removal of the mud resulting from accumulations of dust and other solid impurities separated from the air. Furthermore, if it should happen that the water would ultimately become exhausted before the operator discovered it no injurious result will follow, since all but the ve finest of the dust going to the cleaner w1llv be removed by the action of gravity upon the cyclone bining the advantages of a. water filter with a gravity separator. The water certainly `gathers to itself all of the solid impurities in the air. These impurities are precipitated either directly in the body of the Water or later with particles of the water in the gravity separator, thus insuring delivery of perfectly pure air freed from all solid particles of impurities of every sort, and which is also freed from any excess of moisture, and this in connection with means which enables a comparatively small body of water to operate for an extended-period as a filter, and in a construction which if the water should become depleted the cleaner will nevertheless continue to operate to withdraw the major part of the solids from the air. It is of particular importance, when operating the cleaner in very dry climates where the dry air rapidly evaporates and absorbs the water within the casing, that the cleaner will operate effectively without water, since under such conditions the water may be evaporated much more rapidly than the operator expects, and the casing be dry for considerable periods of time before the fact is discovered. Similarly, under such conditions it may happen that when the operator discovers that the cleaner is dry no water would be available until after a mile or so of travel of the traction engine at its work.

Under any such contingency my air cleaner 1. An air cleaner vcomprising a casing adapted to contain a body of liquid therein, means for connecting the casing with an aircurrent inducing means, means for admitting outside air into the casing and conveying it into said body of liquid` and a casing within the first-named casing through which the air is directed after it leaves said liquid to cause said air to turn in the form of a cyclone to separate excess moisture and solids from said air.

2. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing, a second casing within the firstnamed casing having an open-ended portion extended -to near the bottom thereof, means opening into the second casing for connecting the cleaner with an air-current inducing means, said first-named casing and the extension of the second casing adapted to contain a body of liquid which forms an air seal between the chambers of the first and second casing, means within the first casing lll() `and causing it to move it leaves t inerme for admitting air thereto under the influence of said air-current inducing means and for dlrectlng said air into said body of liquid,

and means within the second casin m'lttlng air thereto after it leaves t for ade liquid g in a cyclone within the second casing to separate excess moisture and solids from said air.

y3. An air cleaner comprising a cylindri-` cal casing, a secondcasing within the firstnamed casing having an open-ended portion extended to near the bottom thereof, means opening into the second casing for connectingl the cleaner with an air-current inducing means, said first-named casing and the extension of the second casing adapted to contain a body of liquid which forms an air seal between the chambers of the first and second casing, a multiplicity of spiral pas sageways formed within the cylindrical casing and communicating at their upper ends with the outside air and having their lower rends extended beneath the surface of said bod y of liquid, and means within the second casin for admitting air thereto after e liquid and causing it to move in a cyclone within .the second casing to separate excess moisture and solids from said air. y

4. An air cleaner comprisin a c lindrical casing, a second casing wit in t e firstnamed casing having an open-ended portion ex nded to near the bottomthereof, means ope ing into the second casing for connectin( the cleaner with an air-current inducin me ns, said first-named casing ,and the extension of theisecond casingr adapted to contain a body of liquid which forms an air seal between the chambers of the first and `second casing, a multiplicity of spiral passageways formed within the cylindrical cas= ing and communicating at their upper ends with the outside air and having their lower ends extended beneath the surface of said body of liquid, and a multiplicity of spiral passageways within the second casing opening at their tops into the chamber of the first casing and discharging at their bottoms near the top of said extension for causing g ting outside air into the the air to move in avcyclone within the second casing to-'separate excess moisture and solids from the said air.

5. An air cleaner comprisin a casing adapted to'contain a circular body of water therein, means for connecting the casing with an air-current inducing means, and means for admitting outside air into said casing under the influence of said air-current inducing means and for directing said air into the upper part of said body of liq uid at the circumference thereof at a downwardly oblique angle to cause the air and liquid Within lthe casing to rotate.

6. An air cleanerv comprising a. casing adapted to contain a body of liquid therein, means for connecting the casing with an aircurrent inducing means, means for admitting outside air into said casing under the infiuence'of said air-current inducing means and for directing said air into said body of liqluid at an angle to cause vthe air and liqui within the casing to rotate, and means within the casing operative upon the air after it leaves the body of -liquid to cause said air to move to the discharge point in a cyclone to separate excess moisture and solids from said air.

7. An air cleaner comprising a casing adapted to contain a body ofv liquid therein, a second casing within thev irst casing, means for placingl theinterior of the second casing in communication-with the aircurrent inducing means, means for admitfirst casing under the iniiuence of such means and. for directing said air into said body of liquid at an angle to cause the air and liquid within the casing to rotate, and means for admitting said Vair after it leaves the liquid into the second casing and for directinigmsaid air within the casing to causeV signature.

asaltar e. BENNETT.

airlcurrent inducing 

